Blogs from Tamil Nadu, India, Asia - page 153

Hello everyone, So for those of you who did not know, I'm in India. Surprise! I've been here for three months now and will be here for three more months until going home for one month and then returning here again. Confused? I wouldn't be surprised. Anyway, just to update you all in a series of lists really fast, here's some of my life the past three months: Cities/Towns/Villages/Tiny Places Visited/Lived in: Chennai Mangalore Bangalore Trichy Arcot Vellore Erode Madurai Dindigul Kodaikanal Ramnad Kanyakumari Nagerkoil Dharani Nagar Courtralam/Kuttralam/Kutralam Rameswaram Erode Vehicles I've Ridden In/On: Car Autorickshaw (aka: three wheeled buggies of DOOM. Try to imagine a moped enclosed in a small, usually yellow, bubble like car thing. With only three wheels. That's pretty close) Moped (Also called "Scooty." on the back) Bicycle (on the back. Not ... read more

Nilgiri Mountain Railway is famed for its punctuality and pushcart pace. At 7.40 am, we were 10 minutes late for the train at Mettupalayam, still sleepy as the mist leaves for the surrounding blue mountains. We decided to give it a chase. Ten minutes later, on a noisy bus to Udhagamandalam or Ooty, we were sure to miss the train. As the old bus negotiated the hairpin bends we clung to our seats. We crossed the railway track and went past narrow bridges and waterfalls. Mountain ridges rose against the frightening depths. Monkeys rule the road. After forestland, tea estates and silver oaks filled the bus windows. We got down at Coonoor to board the next train. An old steam engine is displayed in front of the railway station. The British architecture, from the railway station ... read more

Kanchipuram (Kanchi) is located about 50 km south west of Chennai and is famous for two reasons, temples and silk. There are over one thousand temples in and around Kanchi, we did not see them all (three was enough)! The second reason was the main driver for our visit. We heard of an charity organisation called the Rural Institute for Development Education (RIDE) whose aim is to take children out child labour in the silk industry and put them into education instead. RIDE give the opportunity to visit their headquarters, meet their leaders and be shown around the rural villages to view the impact of their work and meet the people whose lives they have helped to improve. In 1996 there were 40,000 child labourers in Kanchi alone. The only reason that the parents allow their ... read more

Hey Everyone, This is our last day in India and Kylie, Shari, Ryan, and Alex have decided to join me for a brief blogging session. We will try to write from Paris again but I'm not sure about the timing of the layover. There are two types of people in our group. Those who want to go home and those who don't. Jen and I are definitely in the Stay-In-India camp. We are just bummed that we have to leave all the people we met. It would be cool if everyone in Detroit got to make it over here and see the people and projects that our church supports. That's not very likely but it has definitely motivated me to give more (and more often). It's not like I'm envious of the lifestyle here, that doesn't ... read more

Hey Everybody, We have gotten many requests to hear more from the teens. And, honestly, the only reason they are writing is because we have the whole evening off. And, honestly, the only reason we have the evening off is because we are traveling all night. And, honestly, the only reason we're traveling at night is because the churches need EVERY WAKING HOUR OF OUR TIME! love, Ben Whatsup Everyone, I'm very suprised that I'm writing at all. When I get back I'm going to have Wendy's and catch up on some sleep. Traffic here is crazy. Some of us have been riding the disciples motorcycles. Speaking of motorcycles we hit one today. I'm almost positive that there are no traffic laws here. Everyone seems to be getting sick about now. I thought I saw a ... read more